State Ex Rel. Division of State Lands v. Norris

Defendants, Bruce and Veronica Norris, appeal from the trial court’s judgment granting plaintiffs 1 request for injunctive and declaratory relief concerning defendants’ use of submerged and submersible lands 2 of the Columbia River. We review de novo, ORS 19.415(3), and affirm.

Defendants own property in Rainer, Oregon, that fronts the Columbia River. As a general matter, the state has title “to the submersible and submerged lands of all navigable streams and lakes in this state now existing or which may have been in existence in 1859 when the state was admitted to the Union, or at any time…